Our Orange Cat
by Namine778
Summary: Grimmjow's trying to find out what to give Ichigo for his birthday, but there are a few complications. GrimmIchi. Happy Birthday EdwardxUzumaki!


**Author's** **Note:** Happy Birthday EdwardxUzumaki! I hope you enjoy this present and sorry it's a little late! :D

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><p>'<em>Shit.<em>_ What __am__ I__ going __to __do? __This __is__ stupid!__'_ I thought to myself as I stared at the calendar across from me. '_It__'__s __getting __so__ close,__ but __I__ don__'__t __know __what __to __do.__'_

I sat there just staring at it. I couldn't possibly bring any good thoughts to mind on what to do. I just felt ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous for this; why does it have to come to this? It's almost Ichigo's birthday and I seriously can't decide how I want to do this. I mean, it wasn't something as simple as buying him a gift, this was so much more! I sat in the kitchen gripping the cup of tea I made myself earlier. I'm not usually one for tea, but when I need to calm down I drink it. I needed to clear my head. I need to do something so spectacular and insane that he loves it. I clicked my nails against the kitchen table rhythmically.

_Click-click-click-click._

How am I supposed to do this? I stood slowly and sighed. I couldn't just sit around anymore. I had to think of something damn it! I made my way over to the computer and began to Google search some things. Maybe I could get an idea from doing that? I typed in "romance." All it would give me was stupid videos of people doing picture montages to sappy love songs. Those were totally disgusting so fuck that shit. Honestly, how am I supposed to do this? I'm like the most unromantic person ever and I don't like being all fucking mushy in front of anyone.

This is irritating. I stood from the computer and walked off into the bedroom. I began to snoop through his things hoping to find something that could tip me off.

_Merow._

I blinked and looked down. It was that little cat that he loved so damn much. Ichigo's little orange cat he named Tsuna. He loved that cat so much that it kind of sickened me. Tch, people have said I'm jealous. Fuck that! Like I could ever be jealous of a pudgy weak house cat that purred whenever you pet him…well, he was kind of cute. I knelt down to pick him up and pet him softly. Soft purrin, it was a cute sound. Well, I guess it was cute. Like I'm into that bullshit. He loved whenever I would pet his tummy. I sighed. What the hell am I doing? I put the cat down and laid on the bed. He followed me and curled up sleeping. Jeeze, I hate being a cat sometimes too. Whenever Tsuna does that it makes me slee...py…

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><p>"Hey Grimmjow!" A familiar voice woke me up. I blinked slowly and got out of bed staring at the cute strawberry before me. His hands were on his hips and his nose had wrinkled up. I loved when he'd do that. It was adorable to watch and almost worth the earful that he'd be giving me.<p>

"Yes Ichi?" I asked with a sweet voice. Any sudden sarcasm or joking would irritate him further. Didn't want that.

"Let me tell you what happened today at work!" He growled out to me and began to go on a ten minute rant while ransacking the room for something else to wear. I guess Ichigo took a shower because he smelled really clean. Anyway, that bitch at work named Yoko was doing rounds with him at the hospital and took over the flat-line of the patient he was supposed to be watching. Then the loving Dr. Cox just had to scream at him for it telling him how pathetic and useless and how much of a girl he was. Of course that bitch also had to rub it in his face and blah blah. I love Ichigo to death, but seriously, all he does is bitch when he should be beating the shit out of that girl Yoko and Dr. Cox. If I was in Hueco Mundo and some other hollow pulled that shit with me, I'd fucking deck them. You don't do that to people and screw them over without watching to get hurt.

"That sucks," I told him honestly. "Just fuck that bitch up. I'll help you honey."

"I know you would," Ichigo pouted as I pulled him close. He kissed my lips and continued, "I can't do that Grimmjow. You know I can't. If I did something like that to a colleague at work then I could lose this internship. I really need to do this for hospital hours okay?"

"Yeah I know," I told him, "but that bitch has been harassing you since day one. Can I at least get Ulquiorra or Nnoitra to scare the shit out of her?"

"No, she'll get hers. Don't worry okay? I just needed to rant,"

"Yeah I know," I smiled and kissed him once more. Then Tsuna came over mewing quietly and wanting his Mommy. Ichigo got out of my arms and picked up the pudgy ball of furry fluff. I rolled my eyes and stood. Looking at the clock, I saw it was almost time for dinner. I made my way downstairs to start cooking.

"Mommy wuvs you!" I could hear Ichigo cuddling the fluff ball. He walked downstairs holding his little pride and joy with a smile on his lips. I was happy to get him the cat when I did. It was a wedding present from me to him. We had gotten together as a couple a few months after Aizen was defeated and soon it grew into something more than an innocent romance. We got married a few years later and thus here we are now in Karakura, living in our own home and happy with a cat. Ichigo didn't like that feeling of peace. Once Aizen was defeated, he really didn't have a big part in Soul Society anymore, he was beginning to feel lonely and unneeded. I came to stay with him with the approval of the Soul Society, but Ichigo felt something missing. My kitten loved to take care of people so I figured getting him the cat would be a good thing. He's had that cat for almost ten years now. From kitten to an adult, Ichigo still showed the cat such love and affection. It put a smile on my face and made me long for children of our own. God knows we've been trying hard to have one, but it just wasn't coming.

We discussed it with Urahara and he turned Ichigo into a nekomimi, just like Yoruichi, but still it wasn't helping much. The sex got kinkier, but the lack of children was still there. It made Ichigo sad that we couldn't conceive at least one. No matter what, we'd continue to try getting pregnant and have monthly tests at the Urahara Shop hoping that maybe we could actually conceive. We were both males, but hollow males could produce children with other hollow males. It was something that made us unique and since Ichigo did have hollow inside him, then it would work.

Even thought we continued to try to have a child throughout the years, once we realized it was hard to conceive he placed more of the love onto Tsuna. That little cat was his baby, even though he didn't birth him. We sat down to eat and even Tsuna had a place at the table. I chopped up some fish and put it into the stir fry and fed it to the cat. He always sat with us and ate like he was an actual human being. It was kind of cute to watch Ichigo fawn over that.

But that's not important! Back to my initial problem, it was close to Ichigo's birthday and I wasn't sure what to get him. I felt cliché if I got him something cat related. What if I got him some of those awesome action movies he loves so much? Or that gaming system he wants? I don't know. Shit. What am I to do?

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><p>A week has passed and I still can't decide what to get Ichigo. This was becoming a nuisance. I stared at Tsuna for a moment and blinked. For the past while he has been acting funny and even Ichigo noticed it. We had decided if it got worse to take him to the vet. He wasn't looking too good for some reason. I stood, fixed my jeans and t-shirt, and walked over to him. I shook him softly. He mewed at me quietly. His breath smelt funny. Picking him up, I slipped into my shoes and left the house with my wallet and keys. I went into the vet's office and I signed in.<p>

I took a seat in the waiting area right between a guy with a bird and a girl with a snake. People had the weirdest pets ever. I could never understand why someone would actually want things like those as pets. I waited a few hours stupidly forgetting my phone when I remembered to call Ichigo. Then the vet assistant, Yylforte, walked out with a smile.

"Hey Grimmjow," he called to me and I walked over. "We get to see Tsuna today?"

"Yeah," I told him and walked back to see Szayel. "He's been acting funny and now his breath smells odd. I have no clue what's going on with him."

"Well don't worry," he told me with a smile and continued, "I'm sure Szayel will be able to help ya out bro."

"Thanks," I nodded to him and laid Tsuna down on the metal table top. He stared at me with those pretty brown eyes with sadness. That damn cat trying to act so cute, it pissed me off. I sighed and began to pet him to calm him before Szayel walked in with a lab coat on.

"Grimmjow," he nodded to him and began to examine Tsuna carefully. "Go ahead and tell me what's wrong with him."

"Well he's been acting weird," I told him honestly. "He's been eating less and just sleeping more and he isn't feeling well at all."

"Well his temperature seems to be high," he told me gently, "I want to run some tests all right? Just take blood samples."

"Sure," I nodded to him and Szayel picked up the cat to take blood and other tests. I moved from the room and left to go call Ichigo. I knew he was working a 12 hour shift today so he wouldn't pick up his phone. I left a quick messaging explaining I took Tsuna to the vet and I'm waiting for Szayel to finish up with the examination. I walked back into the room and sat down waiting a bit longer. A sigh escaped my lips as I waited. I hated waiting. It was a horrible thing. After what seemed like forever, Szayel walked into the room with a very grim expression. That unnerved me because if something happened to that cat then—

"I'm sorry Grimmjow," his voice slightly startled me, "Tsuna has kidney failure. He only has a few months at best. I suggest either letting him live out these next few months in pain or…put him to sleep."

"W-What...?" I quietly stuttered to Szayel. I had to sit down for this one. No way could this be happening. I shook my head in disbelief and just stared at the pink-haired doctor. This couldn't be happening at all. Ichigo was going to be crushed. The love of his life would disappear. I felt something warm and wet roll down my cheeks. I blinked and touched it. What? Was I—?

"Grimmjow…are you cry—"

"NO!" I snapped at Szayel and rubbed my eyes quickly. The fuck! I was not fucking crying! I couldn't have been! Hell no! I just stared at Szayel for a moment in silence before I spoke up, "W…What do you recommend we do then?"

"The humane thing to do would be to put him to sleep," Szayel told me quietly. I nodded and sighed softly.

"Can you wait until Ichigo comes to do it? He deserves some last minutes with Tsuna. Can I leave the cat here?"

"It would be recommended to leave him here so he would be able to observe him over night. I'll call you if anything changes all right?"

"Thanks," I turned and left. It was so weird. Like one of those outta body experiences ya know? I went home and cooked a big dinner for when Ichigo got back. Then I just sat at the kitchen able to think. I don't know why this honestly was affecting me so much. Tsuna's just a cat. He shouldn't have this huge impact on me at all…

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><p>Ichigo got home at 11pm from the hospital. He didn't get my message at all. I was still in the kitchen staring at the cold meal I couldn't finish when he walked in. Worry crept over his lovely features as he noticed me there. He rushed over to hug me pleading me to tell him what happened. I embraced him. What else could I do? Now I know what you're thinking, I sound ridiculous worrying over something as small as a cat, but that's not it. This cat means more to us than anyone could really understand. Wait! Since when do I love this cat so damn much! Damn it! Ichigo's been rubbing off on me too much.<p>

"Grimmjow…where's Tsuna?"

"Tsuna," my voice sounded hollow as I continued, "he's sick Ichigo. I took him to the vet and he doesn't have long to live. I left with him Szayel for the night…we have a few options."

"W-What?"

That look on his face made me tremble. I never wanted to make him look like that. How heartbroken and so awful, he wasn't speaking at this point. I watched him sit down and prop his elbows onto the table. He buried his face in his hands and just began crying. I pulled him towards me and held him close. We didn't speak the rest of the night. We just held each other and cried—well wait, Ichigo cried. Like I would ever cry over some stupid feline is just dumb.

Finally, after we cleaned up the kitchen in silence, we just laid with one another. For Ichigo, it looked like time had stopped to him. He called in sick and just fell apart. I was really surprised that that cat meant so much to him. To me he just seemed like any normal cat and I really couldn't understand it. Humans were so weird. It's like the cat was really his own chi—wait…it all made sense now. I mean the cat was helping Ichigo cope with the fact that we had a slim chance to conceive, but he placed so much more onto the cat that I had first assumed.

Sure Tsuna isn't our real, Ichigo birthed him, kid, but to Ichigo he was. In a way that cat seemed to symbolize what our relationship really was. The orange tabby cat was something that we both cherished and loved. I laid there with my arms around Ichigo and thought more on it. I remembered when we first got the kitten. Ichigo was just accepted into that medical college and after his first midterms he was just moping around the house feeling so depressed. It got to the point where he didn't even want to get out of bed. I asked Szayel and Ulquiorra what they thought I should do. Of course Szayel, being the made scientist he is, wanted to slice open Ichigo and literally pick his brain. I immediately objected to that, but I approved of Ulquiorra's choice in the matter. He had suggested that I get a pet to possibly lift Ichigo's spirits.

I went to the local pet store and searched around for almost an hour trying to figure out what to get Ichi. I automatically passed the dogs because they weren't of any interest to me (that sounded suspiciously like Ulquiorra, I need to stop hanging out with him so much). I went to the fish, but I soon got hungry. Staring at them all just made me want to attack and eat. I then walked past the birds that hunger building up again. I stopped. It was perfect. I found the most perfect present in the world to give Ichigo. He was the tiniest of the litter of kittens. Bright orange fur, a bit weird compared to the other tabby cats. He was so beautiful and tiny with the biggest brown eyes. I picked him up and paid for him.

Ichigo was lying on the couch when I got home. That was a vast improvement from what he normally would do. Lying in bed just eating chips, it wasn't healthy to do that all the time. I walked over and held the kitten up.

"Someone needs someone to love them," I spoke and Ichigo stared. He took the kitten and perked up. It was something about the kitten that made Ichigo go crazy for him. I was happy that Ichigo was finally happy. So life was good from then on.

We discovered the news of having a low chance of conception after a year had past since our wedding. Kisuke Urahara was able to show us why we couldn't, but it bothered me. I wouldn't be able to have a child at all and I felt like it was my fault. However, the one who took it the worst was Ichigo. He told me he felt like a huge failure that he couldn't provide me with a kid, but that was crazy. He never failed me with anything. I loved him so much. I told him that he shouldn't be having a child just for me, but for him.

Ichigo and I stopped discussing it. Slowly he began to place more of the child position onto Tsuna, but it didn't stop us from trying every night, which I never objected to. So from that point on we would get monthly testing from Urahara to see if Ichigo and I got lucky. With each attempt we kept failing and then Tsuna became Ichigo's little baby boy and soon, I guess without realizing, mine too.

I looked down after I came back to reality. Ichigo was fast asleep in my arms. I realized I should get some sleep too. Tomorrow was going to be a horrible day.

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><p>Ichigo sat there and held Tsuna one last time. Szayel told us that he'd be injected and slowly fall asleep to it. I put an arm around him and looked down at the sadly mewling Tsuna. Moving a hand to stroke the orange tabby's cheek, he licked my hand. My heart sank even more. We had been here for a couple hours silently holding the cat. Szayel walked over to us and told us it was time. I slowly stood and helped Ichigo up. We placed Tsuna down on the table and Szayel got it ready to go. Once he injected Tsuna that was it. Ichigo stared at the small orange tabby and he stared back. Slowly his breathing evened out and his eyes closed. He wasn't moving anymore.<p>

Smaller arms wrapped me and a face buried into my chest. I looked down at the smaller form and frowned. On impulse I wrapped my arms around Ichigo in return. That was it. He was gone and without pain. That night I took Ichigo home and we ate in silence. He didn't want to talk about it at all. It was even worse considering tomorrow was his birthday. I hadn't even gotten Ichigo anything for the occasion. I felt worse than I did before now that I thought about it. I needed a miracle at this point.

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><p>I couldn't sleep at all last night. I had to think of what to do about this. I couldn't let Ichigo suffer anymore. I hated this so I got out of my gigai and went to the animal hospital looking around. I had an idea of what I could do and I called up Kisuke and Yoruichi for help. I looked all over the animal hospital. It had to be here somewhere. I felt something rub against my leg. Could my thoughts have been correct? I picked up the orange tabby and smiled. So I just needed to take him to Kisuke's now. I left the animal hospital and made my way over to the Urahara shop. Yoruichi opened the doors and let me inside.<p>

"So is that him?" she asked with a hopeful look. I nodded and was taken into Kisuke's lab. He had begun creating a gigai just for the tabby, but first he had to konso. Yoruichi volunteered to go run and look for the cat around Soul Society. That would be the most difficult task. She pulled out her Zanpakuto and pressed the hilt against Tsuna's forehead. Kisuke told me once Yoruichi finds him then she'll deliver him. I hoped that she would find him without any problems.

When I got home in the early morning Ichigo was already awake. He sensed that I left the bed and couldn't go back to sleep without me there.

"Where did you go?"

"Out,"

"Grimmjow…"

"Ichigo trust me okay?"

"You know I hate when you keep things from me!"

"Just trust me all right? It's a surprise. I really want to keep it a sec—" I stopped and stared at him. I couldn't keep this from him at all. I sighed and began, "I had the idea of Tsuna's soul still being around. So I went to the vet's office and found his soul lingering there. Then I went to Kisuke and Yoruichi. Kisuke's making him a new body and Yoruichi's looking for Tsuna in the Soul Society to bring him back here."

"G-Grimmjow," he walked over and hugged him tightly beginning to cry. "Thank you! That…that's the greatest thing anyone's done for me, it's a wonderful birthday gift."

"Ichigo…that's not a gift, Tsuna's our kid basically. I'd do this for him or any one of our kids…"

"Oh…" He looked up and at me and kissed me deeply. I kissed back and slipped into my gigai. I went back to bed with Ichigo, but we just couldn't sleep. We were anxiously awaiting Yoruichi to give us our cat, our child. After a few hours we finally went to sleep. I was thankful that Ichigo was off tomorrow as well. I held him close as we laid there.

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><p>I woke up to a knocking sound. I slipped from Ichigo's grasp and went over to the door. Once I opened it I was excited. It seemed that luck was on my side. I hoped that I could sneak him in without Ichigo noticing. I thanked the person with my "delivery" and went upstairs. I was handed a letter as well which was a bit odd. I went into the bedroom and placed the important delivery onto the bed.<p>

Tsuna was back and inside a gigai. He licked Ichigo's cheek softly and meowed trying to wake him up. Ichigo slowly opened his eyes and stared sleepily at the form before him. It was cute because I could tell it took him a moment to register what was going on. He jumped up and grabbed his kitten cuddling him and kissing him all over. I smiled at that and sat next to him. Ichigo looked at me with true happiness. It was nice to be able to see it. I hated it when Ichigo would get upset like that.

"We should have a big breakfast in celebration!"

"Oh right! Happy Birthday," I kissed his lips softly and stood. "I'll get onto that breakfast."

"Okay! Can we have French Toast?"

"Of course," I chuckled and went downstairs to start cooking. I still had the letter, but placed it on the kitchen table. I sighed sadly. I still didn't have anything to give Ichigo for his birthday. I was a crappy husband at this point. I mean seriously, what kind of husband doesn't get their significant other a birthday present? Jeeze! Ichigo walked downstairs with Tsuna and I placed out food for everyone. As I sat down I began to frown and pick at the food I just made.

"What's wrong?" he asked me with a hint of worry in his expression.

"It's just that I didn't get you a birthday present."

"Huh? Grimmjow," he smiled and pat my leg, "I don't care about that. I'm just happy that we have Tsuna back now. You were being so smart about this and you did this for my happiness. I'm just so happy."

"Yeah me too," He moved my drink and blinked down at the letter. I sipped the warm tea and picked it up.

"What's that?"

"Oh well when Yoruichi gave Tsuna to me," I began as I opened the letter, "she gave me this. Said it was important."

"Oh lemme see!"

I opened it and my eyes went wide. I then held it out to Ichigo and he looked shocked. His eyes began to water and he hugged me tightly.

"Thank you…this is a wonderful birthday present!"

I looked down at the note again and just stared. Urahara was an such odd person, but amazing at the same time, I would have to thank him later. I read over the note again in disbelief:

_Congratulations. We are pleased to inform you that your last Urahara Shop pregnancy test is Positive. We cannot wait to welcome your new life into the world. Thank you for your patronage._

_-__Kisuke__ Urahara_


End file.
